Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cutout cover for polymer and porcelain cutouts covering an electrical utility mechanism to protect wildlife from electrocution. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible, resilient and aerodynamic cover.
Cutouts used by electrical power suppliers in power distribution systems often contribute to power outages due to weather or animal intrusion onto the cutout. For example, small animals climbing across power lines from trees often encounter cutouts at the end of a power line. In disembarking from the power line at the cutout, the small animal can create a short to ground fault that is often detected by the protective equipment associated with the power distribution system. In some cases, the short clears and a recloser restores power to downstream components and loads. However, in other cases, the nature of the short prevents it from being cleared and the recloser times out and remains open, requiring the intervention of a line crew to clear the fault and restore power to the downstream components and loads.
Moreover, cutouts are subjected to the weather including icing conditions in the winter and wind throughout the year. At least some known cutout covers include various shapes that present flat surface faces to the wind permitting buffeting of the covered components. Such buffeting may affect the performance of the cutout cover, for example, a cutout cover may become dislodged from the cutout and/or moved from the installed position.